We are always thrilled when Garden & Gun magazine calls with an assignment. We adore working with their creative team and who doesn't like to shoot in beautiful Charleston?
Read Moregarden & gun | asheville on tap
I am very lucky to live pretty close to Asheville, North Carolina – the rising beer capital of America . . . We loved getting this assignment from Garden & Gun magazine. I mean who doesn’t love touring breweries & restaurants and staying in nice hotels? I was really impressed with the young brewmasters and their enthusiasm for their craft. And even though I am gluten-intolerant, I admit I had a few sips of some beers they worked so hard on!
We’ve included photos from the Wicked Weed, the Wedge, and Highland Breweries but these are only a few of the 40 + craft breweries located in Asheville!
We stayed at the Grand Bohemian, a beautiful hotel with the rustic feeling of a European hunting lodge mixed with old world elegance. The have an excellent restaurant, a gallery & spa and have been named one of the best hotels by Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler!
garden & gun | vivian howard family portraits
Well, you can’t go wrong with a golden wheat field and such a cute family! At the end of our shoot for Garden & Gun’s August issuewe did some fun family portraits of Vivian & Ben and the kids. See the interior of their fabulous house here and stay tuned for photos of the impromptu dinner party!
garden & gun | vivian howard’s modern farmhouse
Have you watched the delightful PBS show A Chef’s Life? Chef Vivian Howard and her husband Ben Knight move from New York City to the small town of Kinston, North Carolina to open a restaurant and make their lives. The show documents their adventures in running a restaurant and raising twins in a small town. I especially love the segments that show the colorful people of the community. A Chef’s Life is sweet but real and wonderful watch. So imagine how excited we were when Garden & Gun Magazine called for me to do a shoot a Vivian & Ben’s new house!
As we drove from Greensboro to the flatter lands of eastern North Carolina, we were struck by the beautiful fields and traditional farms along the way. And there in the middle of a golden wheat field was Vivian & Ben’s modern house! We fell in love with Vivian & Ben and their family and we had a great time photographing such a warm and inviting house. The modern minimal architecture is complemented by all the personal antiques and art. Hope you enjoy the photos and please stay tuned for some more images from our day.
Architect: Ann Clark
garden & gun | katie button's cúrate
I love my job everyday but I especially love it when it allows me to meet inspiring people! I photographed Chef Katie Button at her fantastic restaurant Cúrate in Asheville for Garden & Gun magazine earlier this year (see more of the story here). I found Chef Button’s enthusiasm for food catchy and the food at Cúrate delicious! We always suggest people stop by Cúrate if they are going to Asheville. And yesterday we were excited to read that Button will now be doing a cookbook and we wanted to say a big congratulations from all of us at Stacey Van Berkel Photo!
garden & gun | far-out farmhouse
I am always thrilled to shoot for Garden & Gun magazine and when Art Director, Maggie Kennedy asked if I could shoot a lovely Carolina farmhouse I started packing my gear. Driving down the bucolic country roads, past farms and lakes, past cattle and horses, I couldn’t wait to arrive at my destination. The very talented Ken Pursley of Pursley Architecture designed this house that I secretly wish was mine.
Ken and his colleagues welcomed me and gave me the grand tour of the property. What a wonderful getaway from the busyness of live – a row adirondack chairs on the porch for sitting and reading, walls of windows to gaze at beautiful scenery, a tree swing and a lake, chickens, horses and mammoth donkeys. And all you can hear are the cicadas. . .
I think you’ll enjoy seeing a few more photos of amazing job Ken has done on this house!
garden & gun | capitol’s living wall
Another great assignment from Garden & Gun magazine! Everything about this job was pleasing to the eye. My subjects: the lovely Laura Vinroot Poole, owner of the stunning couture boutique Capitol, and her talented architect husband, Perry Poole. The backdrop: the amazing vertical garden wall by famed botanist Patrick Blanc in the middle courtyard of Capitol. I was thrilled when I spotted a turquoise tête á tête inside Capitol! I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
We were pleased to have the opening photo of Garden & Gun’s “Talk of the South” section – see more photos at Garden & Gun. Below I have included the article and then a few of my favorites from the shoot. Hope you enjoy!
garden & gun | the party barn
It was such a pleasure to be assigned to photograph Bittersweet Farms for Garden & Gun magazine. This idyllic property, owned by the Bechers, is near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina. The barn was constructed out of the most beautiful wood from reclaimed barns brought down from Pennsylvania. There are belted Galloway cows, meadows for dogs to romp and in a small vale sits an amazing twig sculpture called “Hocus Pocus” by Patrick Doherty. See a few of my favorites below followed by the article.
